Martin Jol was relieved that Fulham secured a deserved win after this match had looked set to be overshadowed by the goalline technology debate. Philippe Senderos nodded home his first goal for Fulham in the 89th minute to secure the hosts' victory after controversy threatened to alter the course of proceedings.

Shortly after Pavel Pogrebnyak had brought Fulham level following Emmerson Boyce's strike, he saw a 63rd-minute effort hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce down towards the line. The officials waved play on, having ruled the ball was not fully over but Jol said replays show it should have stood.

"I asked Pav and he said: 'No, it was not over the line,'" the Dutchman said. "I thought therefore it was not over the line but our video guy showed me it was. It was a goal. Maybe what Sky or BBC saw was different but what I saw from my TV man, it was behind the line.

"We were in Geneva with a lot of coaches and we listened to [the Uefa president Michel] Platini, who said 'it is a game of human beings'. Everyone makes mistakes and when you think how many times it happens in a season, it is four or five times. Everybody agreed to leave it but that was two years ago and there is now endless discussion."

While most of the post-match talk revolved around whether Pogrebnyak's effort crossed the line, Jol was keen to focus on his side's performance.

"They had zero corners, no chances and they scored out of nothing, so it would have been harsh if we had lost," he said. "The first 20 minutes were good, we played down the flanks but it was very crowded. With their goal it came out of nothing but maybe it came at the right time because we have the Pog and he scored. It was good to see Philippe Senderos score as well."

While Fulham sit comfortably in the top half, Wigan still face a fight to stave off relegation. This defeat comes after a magnificent run in which they beat Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, but their manager, Roberto Martínez, remains philosophical.

"I am disappointed with the result, with the manner the game ended," he said. "We knew it was going to be a very difficult game. Obviously we had three very challenging games in eight days and today was probably a game too many. You could see that in spells."